Cortez Allen

Cortez Lequon Allen (born October 29, 1988) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for The Citadel Bulldogs. Allen was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft.

Early life Allen was born in San Diego, California, and grew up in Citra, Florida. He graduated from North Marion High School of Citra in 2006 prior to being recruited to The Citadel.

College career Allen posted 120 tackles and 5 interceptions in his career with the Bulldogs football team of The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, returning two for touchdowns. As a freshman in 2006, Allen played in four games and had one assisted and one solo tackle. He redshirted the 2007 season. In 2008, as a sophomore, Allen played all 12 games and started 6. Against Furman (October 18), Allen made a season-high seven tackles, and against Samford (October 25), Allen made six tackles (including one for loss) and broke up one pass. For 2009, Allen earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors.

Professional career Pre-draft Before the draft, analyst Mel Kiper Jr. considered Allen a "sleeper" who would be selected in the third or fourth round. Kiper also described Allen as "a big corner who runs well, tests well athletically and has good strength".

2011 The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Allen in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2011 NFL draft.

On July 28, 2011, the Steelers signed Allen to a four-year, $2.43 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $293,625. Due to injury, Allen missed much of training camp.

Allen played 15 games in the 2011 season and missed Week 6 (October 9) due to an ankle injury. He debuted professionally in Week 1 (September 11) against the Baltimore Ravens on special teams. On October 23 (Week 7) against the Arizona Cardinals, Allen made his first defensive tackle. Allen made a career-high five tackles in Week 6 (October 11), a Thursday night match against the Tennessee Titans. In the season finale on Week 17 (December 30) against the Cleveland Browns, Allen forced two fumbles, both of which were followed by Steelers touchdowns. In the second quarter, Allen stripped a received ball from Josh Gordon, with Lawrence Timmons recovering. Then in the fourth quarter, Allen forced a fumble from Travis Benjamin after Benjamin caught a pass. Allen returned the fumble 21 yards and set up a possession that led to a touchdown. In Week 3 of the 2014 season, the Steelers lost cornerback Ike Taylor to a forearm injury. Allen stepped in as his replacement. While playing the Buccaneers the week after, he recorded 7 tackles as well as an interception. The next week, facing the Jaguars, he intercepted a pass from rookie quarterback Blake Bortles in the 2nd quarter. He finished the game with 7 tackles and an interception. On October 17, the Steelers benched Allen in favor of veteran Brice McCain.

2015 Allen played in one game for the Steelers in 2015. He was placed on injured reserve in October. He was released by the Steelers on April 15, 2016.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD 2011 PIT 15 0 15 12 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2012 PIT 15 3 55 43 12 0.0 0 2 6 0 6 10 3 1 21 0 2013 PIT 14 8 51 44 7 0.0 1 2 43 1 40 13 0 0 0 0 2014 PIT 11 7 41 36 5 0.0 3 2 27 0 27 11 0 1 0 0 2015 PIT 1 0 6 3 3 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 56 18 168 138 30 0.0 4 6 76 1 40 34 3 2 21 0